Abstract
An increasing number of women are participating in the movement to Nigeria's cities. As expected, the majority of female migrants, especially if they were already married, are associational, in that they move with the family or relatives. The important point to note, however, is the preponderance of autonomous migration among single women. Whether married or not, women migrate for much the same reasons men do, mainly to seek remunerative employment in order to meet personal as well as socially ascribed financial obligations to children and relatives. Other reasons for migrating include the need for further education or for learning a trade as an apprentice. Because of the importance of migration to family survival, the extended family and friends both at the migrants' places of origin and in urban centres facilitate the migratory process and adjustment to the new destinations.
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